DRC: WFP Reduces Aid Due to Funding Shortages as 25 Million People Suffer from Hunger
A lack of funding is forcing the World Food Programme (WFP) to reduce its aid to the Democratic Republic of Congo, where hunger and fighting are severely impacting the eastern provinces.
"People are already dying of hunger," the WFP warned on Friday, as its teams struggle to access areas in the east of the country that have fallen under the control of the M23. Since the offensive by the armed group defending the interests of the Congolese Tutsi minority at the beginning of the year, the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu have been virtually cut off from the rest of the DRC.
The WFP's warning comes the day after the publication of a new report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), in which the leading international group of experts on malnutrition highlights that nearly 25 million people in the DRC are facing acute food insecurity.
“Hunger is rampant, but the World Food Programme (WFP) can only reach a fraction of those in need due to a critical lack of funding and complex access challenges,” said Cynthia Jones, WFP representative in the country, speaking from Kinshasa during a press briefing in Geneva.
The UN agency had planned to provide food assistance to 2.3 million people in eastern DRC this year. Due to a lack of funding, it has been forced to reduce the number of beneficiaries to just 600,000 per month starting in October.
"People are already dying of hunger," the WFP warned on Friday, as its teams struggle to access areas in the east of the country that have fallen under the control of the M23. Since the offensive by the armed group defending the interests of the Congolese Tutsi minority at the beginning of the year, the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu have been virtually cut off from the rest of the DRC.
The WFP's warning comes the day after the publication of a new report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), in which the leading international group of experts on malnutrition highlights that nearly 25 million people in the DRC are facing acute food insecurity.
“Hunger is rampant, but the World Food Programme (WFP) can only reach a fraction of those in need due to a critical lack of funding and complex access challenges,” said Cynthia Jones, WFP representative in the country, speaking from Kinshasa during a press briefing in Geneva.
The UN agency had planned to provide food assistance to 2.3 million people in eastern DRC this year. Due to a lack of funding, it has been forced to reduce the number of beneficiaries to just 600,000 per month starting in October.